Eligibility
for Refugee Assistance and Services
through the Office of Refugee Resettlement
Overview
In the
Refugee Act of 1980, Pub. L. No. 96-212, Congress codified and
strengthened the United States’ historic policy of aiding individuals
fleeing persecution in their homelands. The Refugee Act of 1980
provided a formal definition of "refugee", which is virtually
identical to the definition in the 1967 United Nations Protocol
relating to the Status of Refugees. This definition is found in
the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) at section 101(a)(42).
In addition, the Act provided the foundation for today’s asylum
adjudication process and the development of an Office of Refugee
Resettlement (ORR) within the Department of Health and Human Services.
ORR’s mission is to assist refugees and other special populations,
as outlined in ORR regulations, in obtaining economic and social
self-sufficiency in their new homes in the United States. To do
this, ORR funds and facilitates a variety of programs that offer,
among other benefits and services, cash and medical assistance,
employment preparation and job placement, skills training, English
language training, social adjustment and aid for victims of torture.
Eligible
Populations
As
mentioned above, a "refugee" is primarily defined
in the INA as:
any person
who is outside any country of such person’s nationality or,
in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any
country in which such person last habitually resided, and who
is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling
to avail himself or herself of the protection of, that country
because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution
on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular
social group, or political opinion.
INA §
101(a)(42)(a); 8 USC § 1101(a)(42)(a).
Using
this definition, representatives of the United States Immigration
and Naturalization Service (INS) conduct interviews overseas of
individuals who have fled persecution. They then make determinations
of refugee status. Once an individual is determined to be a refugee,
a joint effort, conducted by the Department of State, the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) and the INS, brings these individuals
to the United States. United States voluntary agencies and ORR
then initiate programs to assist with their resettlement. Refugees
are the main beneficiaries of ORR assistance and services.
Asylees
also meet the definition of "refugee" in the INA. However, asylees
are individuals, who, on their own, travel to the United States,
apply for and receive a grant of asylum. These individuals do
not enter the United States as refugees. They may enter as students,
tourists, businessmen or without papers. Once they are in the
United States, or at a land border or port of entry, they apply
to the INS for asylum, a status that will acknowledge that they
meet the definition of a refugee and that will allow them to remain
in the United States. Individuals granted asylum are eligible
for ORR assistance and services. (Note that asylum applicants
are not eligible for ORR assistance and services. The only exception
is for certain Cuban and Haitian entrants. If a national of Cuba
or Haiti has applied for asylum, he or she may be eligible to
receive ORR assistance and services as a Cuban and Hatian entrant.
See information below about Cuban and Haitian entrants.)
In addition
to these two groups meeting the refugee definition, ORR also assists
Cuban and Haitian entrants. Employing the definition
in the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980, Pub. L. No. 96-422,
ORR defines Cuban and Haitian entrants as:
(a) Any
individual granted parole status as a Cuban/Haitian Entrant
(Status Pending) or granted any other special status subsequently
established under the immigration laws for nationals of Cuba
or Haiti, regardless of the status of the individual at the
time assistance or services are provided; and
(b) Any
other national of Cuba or Haiti
(1) Who:
(i) Was
paroled into the United States and has not acquired any other
status under the Immigration and Nationality Act;
(ii) Is
the subject of exclusion or deportation proceedings under the
Immigration and Nationality Act; or
(iii) Has
an application for asylum pending with the Immigration and Naturalization
Service; and
(2) With
respect to whom a final, nonappealable, and legally enforceable
order of deportation or exclusion has not been entered.
45 CFR
§ 401.2.
Certain
Amerasians from Vietnam who are admitted to the U.S.
as immigrants pursuant to section 584 of the Foreign Operations,
Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1988,
are also eligible to receive ORR assistance and services. This
definition is contained in section 101(e) of Public Law 100-202
and amended by the 9th proviso under Migration and
Refugee Assistance in Title II of the Foreign Operations, Export
Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Acts, 1989 (Pub.
L. No. 100-461 as amended).
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-386,
Division A, 114 Stat. 1464 (2000), makes adult victims
of severe forms of trafficking who have been certified
by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) eligible
for benefits and services to the same extent as refugees. Victims
of severe forms of trafficking who are under 18 years of age are
also eligible for benefits to the same extent as refugees but
do not need to be certified. Victim of a Severe Form of
Trafficking (for benefits purposes):
Child Victim:
An individual under 18 who has been subjected to a severe form
of trafficking
Adult Victim:
An individual 18 and over who has been subjected to a severe
form of trafficking and has been certified by HHS. To receive
a certification, an adult must be willing to assist with a trafficking
case AND must have made a bona fide application for a T visa
or be an individual whose continued presence the Attorney General
is ensuring to effectuate a prosecution. §107(b)(1)(C)
TVPA
Severe
form of trafficking:
- sex trafficking
in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or
coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act
has not attained 18 years of age; or
- the recruitment,
harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person
for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion
for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage,
debt bondage, or slavery.
§103(8) TVPA
For more
information about victims of severe forms of trafficking, please
see ORR State Letter #01-13.
Finally,
ORR assists individuals who have permanent resident status in
the United States, provided that these individuals had held one
of the above mentioned statuses before becoming permanent
residents (i.e. "green card" holders).
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Statuses
Eligible for ORR Assistance and Services
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Refugees,
admitted under INA § 207
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Asylees,
granted asylum under INA § 208
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Cuban
and Haitian entrants as defined under 45 CFR §
401.2
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Certain
Amerasians
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Victims of a Severe Form of Trafficking |
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Permanent
Residents who had held one of the above
statuses in the past
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*Note:
Individuals who are paroled into the United States as refugees
or asylees under INA § 212(d)(5) are also eligible
for ORR assistance and services. It is extremely rare to
see someone in this category. Do NOT confuse these refugees
and asylees with general parolees under § 212(d)(5), such
as "Lautenberg" parolees. "Lautenberg" parolees are NOT
eligible for ORR assistance and services. Additionally,
other "public interest parolees" and "humanitarian interest
parolees" are NOT eligible. (If the individual is a Cuban
or Haitian admitted under § 212(d)(5), he or she may be
eligible for ORR assistance and services.)
45
CFR § 400.43
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Documentation
In order
to access ORR assistance and services, individuals must meet the
requirements listed in ORR regulations. These requirements include
appropriate proof of status in the form of documentation issued
by the INS.
For the most
recent information about documentation of status,
please see State Letters #00-17
and #01-13.
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